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A guitar pick and a lighter, two things Tatsuya never left home without despite the fact that he rarely brought his guitar out with him and he had never smoked a day in his entire life.
Though it's not like their individual practically was the reason why he kept them on him all the time. If anything, the reason he carried them around with him was more of a symbolic act really, one could probably classify it as a reminder of sorts, a reminder of people he held dearly to him.
The lighter had been given to him by Jun when they were kids. It was engraved with the words “The most precious things cannot be seen.” Jun had explained to him back then that, while their friendship between the two of them wasn’t a physical object like this lighter in his hand was, that didn’t make it any less important because in his eyes their friendship with one another was one of the most valuable things he’s ever had the chance of experiencing in his whole life. Having fun with each other, talking about things in a deep way they rarely got to do with anyone else, and just having the opportunity to quietly by each other’s side was something he was always grateful for, so that’s why he had this phase engraved into the lighter for him, to remind him of how deeply he valued having him in his life.
And of course, naturally feeling the same regarding his own relationship with Jun in turn, he got used to carrying around the lighter in his pocket henceforward. From ever since Jun first gave the lighter to him when they were both kids, up until now that they were both teenagers, he had never parted from the lighter unless he absolutely had to because of how strongly he still valued their bond with one another after all these years.
However, when it came to the reason why he carried his guitar pick with him all the time alongside his signature lighter Jun had given him, that was an entirely different story.
The guitar pick was something that had been given to him by Eikichi recently, when he tried to coerce him into joining his band after he got the rest of his friends to lure him to Sumaru Prison to corner him there and persuade him into it.
Now, he didn’t remember the exact words Eikichi had told him back then, but he was pretty sure it was something along the lines of, “You’re wasting your talent by not playing with me baby! I know the two of us could make some sweet music together if we tried, so why not join my band so we can rock the whole world all night long?”
He hadn’t meant to let himself join the other teen’s band at first, since he had been planning on turning down his offer when he first heard it, but there was something about Eikchi’s eccentric and insistent energy that couldn't help but naturally draw him in and get him to follow along in his self-indulgent musical fantasies.
After a short band practice with one another to test the length of their musical skills, that’s when Eikichi had given him this signature pick for him to remember him by.
His reasons for giving him the guitar pick weren’t nearly as deep as Jun’s own ones for giving him the lighter. He had just simply given him the pick because he thought It could help him better control over the notes he played on his guitar and get a more consistent sound out of them too, so he hadn't thought much about the gift Eikichi had given him at the time either when he unconsciously stored the pick in his pocket with the rest of the stuff he casually carried there (like his oh so precious lighter).
But eventually like the lighter, he found himself unable to part from the guitar pick either even when he knew he didn’t need it.
He had always had a bit of a tick when it came to fiddling with his lighter, he often found himself opening it up and staring at the open flame, whenever he was bored or waiting around for something.
Sure, he could admit it wasn’t the safest of things to mess around with, his older brother had gotten on his ass plenty of times telling him to be more careful of it so he didn't accidentally set a fire somewhere, but still he couldn’t help but keep watching the flame, since in a strange way he couldn’t help but remind him of Jun by it, despite how different the two of them seemed at face value.
An open flame could be perceived as dangerous, as something that could burn you to the touch if you weren’t careful, which was the complete opposite you could describe Jun as. He was calm person, someone who didn’t get rattled by things too easily unless they were extremely personal to him, so he was the last thing you could describe as dangerous or as deadly as an open flame could be, yet despite how different Jun and an open flame were on the surface, to him they shared one trait in common which was the fact the he found both of them soothing.
Jun had always had a relaxing aura about him, hearing him ramble about anything in that gentle voice of his was enough to alleviate any tension he had and looking at the controlled open flame from his lighter had always given him that same feeling too. Getting to watch the small flicker of flame slightly move back and forth in his hand in a controlled environment where he knew it wasn’t going to hurt nobody could be surprisingly memorizing. Even if it was mostly just for a moment, it helped take his mind off the most stressful things going on in his life, just like being around Jun did.
And like the lighter, he had often been finding himself using the guitar pick more and more as of late as a distraction of sorts in a similar way as well.
The edges of the guitar pick had always made it a fun thing to twirl around in his fingers from time to time. It gave him a quick simple rush of adrenaline that spiced up his normal boring everyday life whenever he did it.
Spending time with Eikichi himself had often felt that way too, his overly passionate nature when it came to everything he did was enough to shake up anyone’s life if they weren’t used to matching the same amount of energy as he was. He didn’t hate it though, even if he considered himself on the quieter and reserved side of the spectrum. If anything, he found the change of pace a bit refreshing from time to time.
Jun and Eikichi, while they were polar opposites in lots of ways, he still couldn’t help but find himself valuing them both the same for very different reasons. Jun’s calm easy going personality that reminded him everything was going to be all right no matter what happen, combined with Eikichi’s natural over enthusiastic nature that inspired him to go after whatever he wanted to and to make the most out of his life, made them both two people he treasured extremely dearly.
Tatsuya felt the heart in his chest start to warm and an unconscious smile slowly start to appear on his face as he found himself running his fingers over the familiar lighter and guitar pick that sat in his pocket.
He couldn’t help but think of Jun’s and Eikichi’s own smiling faces looking back at him, whenever he felt these two objects in his pockets.
And thinking about the two of them making that kind of joyous expression towards him, had always made the hardest days or even just simple tough moments in his life, a bit easier to manage because he knew he always had friends like that to return to at the end of the day.
Knowing that he had Jun and Eikichi at his side to lean on when things got rough, gave him the motivation to go on no matter what, which was something he was extremely grateful for, so that’s why he didn’t have any intention of parting from either the lighter or guitar pick anytime soon, since those two items brought him hope and happiness in a way that few other things did.